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Video: Chaos reigns in processing of BP claims

Transcript of: Chaos reigns in processing of BP claims

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:And once again tonight, all eyes are on the
Gulf of Mexico
, where we are days away from marking the fifth anniversary of
Katrina
, where they have 90 days worth of crude oil in that water. Today the massive
BP
fund, $20 billion, designed to make it right, as they say in their commercials, starts to get handed out. There's one man in charge of it, a
New England
lawyer named
Kenneth Feinberg
. And can you imagine having that job? He's the authority who will get to decide who gets what and when. And the
gulf region
's full of people who've suffered real hurt as a result of all that oil in the water. We begin again tonight with our chief environmental affairs correspondent
Anne Thompson
in
Venice
,
Louisiana
.
Anne
, good evening.

ANNE THOMPSON reporting:Good evening,
Brian
. You know,
Venice
once called itself very proudly the fishing
capital of the world
. To reclaim that title, the fishermen and
business people
here need financial help. So you will understand while the peep -- why the people in
Venice
and, indeed, across the
Gulf Coast
are looking at the man who will decide how much they will get for all that they've lost.
Ken Feinberg
is the $20 billion man.

THOMPSON:Today he barnstormed the
Mississippi
coast, explaining the new
Gulf Coast Claims Facility
, replacing the
BP
claims service that made few people happy.

Mr. FEINBERG:I will come back here as much as possible.

THOMPSON:Feinberg
wants people whose jobs and businesses were harmed by the spill to apply for an emergency payment equal to six months losses, but those people are skeptical of a man appointed by
President Obama
and administering funds from
BP
.

Mr. FEINBERG:When the administration and
BP
set up this program, they set it up with me as totally independent. If anybody thinks that I'm beholden to either the administration or
BP
, I can only tell them just watch what this facility does in the way of compensation over the next few weeks and months, and you will see, not through talk but deed, how independent this facility really is.

THOMPSON:In its four-month effort,
BP
says it received 154,000 claims. They came from all
50 states
.
BP
paid out $399 million. Now, today
Feinberg
was just talking about the emergency payments the people can file for from now until
November 23rd
. Next year he'll deal with final settlements, and those are expected to be far more contentious and controversial because in some cases some people may have to forfeit their right to sue
BP
to get that money.

Brian:Anne Thompson
on Captain
Jane
's boat in what was the once, and let's hope the future, fishing
capital of the world
,
Venice
,
Louisiana
.
Anne
, thanks.